Growing Your Troop: Inviting and Welcoming New Members

Growing Your Troop: Inviting and Welcoming New Members

Girl Scouts is all about making new friends—and keeping the old! By growing your troop to ten or more members, you can give youth in your community the opportunity to try new things, build forever friendships, take on adventures, dream big and have fun doing it.

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Share Customized Troop Flyers

Customized Troop Expansion Flyer Options in English and Spanish can be a great way to get the word out about your troop. Flyers can be shared at schools, community centers, libraries, and more. Troop leaders can either print your own at home or log in to the Impressive Online Print Center to get them mailed directly to your home at no cost.

Note: Please allow one week for your order to be processed and mailed.

If you want to order troop flyers, create a new account by selecting “click here to register” at the sign-in screen. Allow up to three business days for approval of new accounts. Navigate to the troop leader folder and complete your order. For further instructions, download the Online Print Center Training Guide (PDF).

Use Email and Social Media

Are there parents and friends in your network whose child would benefit from being in your troop? Let them know you have openings in your troop by sharing this sample post (DOCX) on social media. Don’t forget to include a link to your troop listing!

You can also use this easy-to-personalize email template (DOCX) to promote open spots in your troop directly to families in your community.

Use the “Invite Friends” Feature

If you already know the email addresses of families who would like to join your troop, you can send them a personalized invite with a link to register into your troop from your My Account page. To do this, navigate to your troop roster under your My Troop(s) tab, and click the “Invite friends to join your troop” link at the bottom of the page.

Host a "Bring a Friend" Day

Share your Girl Scout community by hosting a "Bring a Friend" day! Customize invite cards (PDF) to encourage everyone in the troop to bring someone who isn’t a member. Then host an event showing off all the fun things that Girl Scouts do, and don’t forget to ask them to become a permanent member of the troop.

This is a day to show off your favorite Girl Scout activities. This might include: creating a build-your-own trail mix bar, having a Girl Scout scavenger hunt, testing your engineering skills by designing paper rockets or pencil catapults, completing a community service activity, or making yummy s'mores.

Find a Committed Co-Leader toggle arrow

Adult volunteers play an important role in making sure your troop gets to achieve the big dreams they have planned! Most troops have a co-leader (or two!) who helps share responsibilities like planning meetings, working with finances, and communicating with families. Here are some resources to help you find a Co-Leader for your troop:

Post on Social Media

Use your social network to share a rewarding volunteer opportunity. You never know who might be looking to join you. See adult sample social posts.

Ask your families at the First Family Meeting

Asking parents and caregivers to help lead at your First Troop Family Meeting. Additionally, extended family members or friends who want to help lead can also be a great resource. They bring a variety of skills and interests, plus, they are already invested in helping their child!

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Girls Scouts in an inclusive organization that welcomes everyone to be a part of the fun! You and your troop will want to make sure that any new troop member feels welcome and included—Here are some inviting ideas:

Create a Welcome Letter

Have the troop write, decorate, and sign a welcome letter. They can even write personal messages for new Girl Scouts.

Start With an Icebreaker

Check out our In the Loop post Break the Ice: Four Fun Activities to Engage Girls for ideas on how to kick off your new Girl Scout’s first troop meeting.

Assign the New Girl Scout a Buddy

Prior to the first meeting, assign the new troop member a ‘Buddy’ to help answer any questions and put them at ease throughout the first few meetings. They can sit next to each other during activities and teach how the troop operates. It also gives the “Buddy” a chance to practice their leadership skills.

Teach a Tradition

Girl Scouts has lots of great traditions—They’re what makes us feel connected to each other. When you have a new Girl Scout, take the time to teach them the Girl Scout Promise and Law or sing along to Make New Friends. Including them in traditions will build up their confidence and help them feel like they’re part of the troop.

Summary of Resources

Impressive Online Print Center - Troop leaders can log into the Impressive Online Print Center to get flyers mailed directly to your home at no cost. For further instructions, download the Online Print Center Training Guide (PDF) .

Troop Expansion Flyer Options - Flyer with space to customize your in-person event with your event location, address, date, and time. Includes customizable section at the bottom for school disclaimers.

Sample Social Post - Share information about your troop on social media. Don’t forget to include a link to your troop listing!

Email Template - Use the email template to connect with your families at the start of your troop year. Be sure to customize and add your specific troop details in the appropriate sections.

Peer-to-Peer Invite Card Options - Customizable invitations for non-members to join your troop meeting.

Troop Family Meeting - Use the following steps to prepare for and hold your first troop family meeting.

Health, Safety, and Using Safety Activity Checkpoints - Remember to stay safe and follow our girl-to-adult ratios during meetings.

GirlScoutShop.com – Visit our online shop or find a local Girl Scouts shop near to purchase to purchase the World Trefoil Pin and Girl Scout Membership Pin.